Aussie falls off four-month high versus greenback

Australian dollar fell off August 9 highs for the fourth straight session against its US counterpart, following earlier Australia data and ahead of US labor data later today. 

As of 03:30 GMT, AUD/USD shed 0.65% to 0.7221, with an intraday high at 0.7274, and the lowest since November 27 at 0.7220. 

Earlier Australian data showed the trade surplus shrank to 2.32 billion from 2.94 billion, missing estimates of 3.10 billion, while retail sales rose 0.3% as expected. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia voted this week to maintain monetary policy and interest rates unchanged at 1.50% as expected by market analysts for the 26th meeting in a row. 

Investors now await US data on private sector employment, expected with an addition of 195 thousand last month, down from 227 thousand in October. 

The productivity gauge is estimated with a 2.3% increase, up from 0.9% in the second quarter, while labor costs are estimated with a 1.1% increase, compared to a 1.0% drop before.  

US unemployment claims are expected to have slipped to 226 thousand, while continuing claims are expected with a 15K drop to 1.695 million. 

The ISM services PMI is expected to have slipped to 59.1 in November from 60.3, while factory orders are estimated with a 1.9% decline, compared to a 0.7% increase in September.